After earning top honors for the second year running from The San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2024, Milwaukee-crafted Top Note has earned a notable milestone: a Platinum Medal at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits, Ready To Drink Competition (SFWSC).

This prestigious award is granted exclusively to products that achieve Double Gold status for three consecutive years. Not only is it a testament to Top Note’s unwavering commitment to quality and innovation, but it’s also an honor never before achieved by a traditional tonic water, making Top Note Classic Tonic one of the most awarded tonic waters in the world. 

For three years, Top Note has consistently impressed the San Francisco judges with its twist on traditional tonic. Rather than making a tonic that’s little more than a bittersweet soft drink and no aroma, Mary Pellettieri and Noah Swanson, co-founders of Top Note, took their idea in another direction.

“In the end, it’s tough to make tonic taste good,” says Pellettieri. “It’s a bit like chicken soup; it can be hard to make it stand out. So, we focused on sour (tart citrus) vs bitter and we made sure that it had a top note of high-quality lime.” 

Ultimately, the finished product ends up balanced and easy to drink. Designed with 30% less sugar, the tonic also serves to enhance spirits, rather than overpower them, making it a great choice for tonic-based drinks, whether at home or at the bar. 

“This Platinum Medal is a testament to our dedication to making mixers that are a little left of center, yet hit the mark for mixology because of a clever twist we know to apply from our time making beer,” says Pellettieri. “To win the first and only Platinum Medal for tonic water, a very competitive category, confirms we’re on the right path.”

New U.S.-made bottles

Alongside those high honors, Top Note has also made strides in bringing its packaging back home.

“With the supply chain disruptions during COVID, there’s no longer a global supply chain to depend on,” says Pellettieri, “So, we’ve been looking for domestic-made glass for a while now. We finally found a co-packer in Illinois that uses U.S.-made 10-ounce bottles with a ROPP closure.” 

That means the bottles are not only made in the U.S., but they hold more product (up to 4 ounces more). They also reseal fully so every drop can be used. In addition, the use of domestic glass gives Top Note a fairly notable cost savings that they can pass along to consumers.

“Not only can we price our bottles well and make them competitive, but it’s great to be supporting U.S.-made glass,” says Pellettieri.

Where to find Top Note

If you’ll be at Festa Italiana this weekend, pop in on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the La Cucina Showcase (inside the Aurora Pavilion) where Pellettieri will be demonstrating a range of Italian cocktails that can be made with Top Note Tonic.

Top Note’s award-winning Classic Tonic is available for purchase at select retailers in the Midwest, including: Woodmans, Groppis, Nehrings, Sendiks Markets, Metcalfs, Rays, Three Cellars, Willi Street Co-Op, Outpost Natural Food Cooperatives and Waterford Wine.  You'll also find Top Note poured at establishments like Great Lakes Distillery, Bryants, Sanford, Voyager, Corvina Wine Company, Reilly’s and Zarletti’s. 

Beginning this summer, Pick ‘n Save and Metro Market (along with Mariano’s in Illinois) will be bringing in Top Note products as well.

Top Note's full line of products including Club Soda No 1, Ginger Beer, Classic Tonic Water, Grapefruit soda and newly re-named Aline Spritz and Lemon Spritz are all available online at  store.topnotetonic.com

For more information, follow @TopNoteTonic on social media.